Achieved, in progress, deferred: Sociocultural conditions shaping Latinx students' engineering identity

Background Developing an engineering role identity is a dynamic process influenced by expectations and environmental factors. Existing literature highlights the link between a strong engineering identity and students' persistence, major choices, and sense of belonging. Still, little is known about how sociocultural contexts shape Latinx students' temporal positioning of their engineering identity. Purpose This study examined how sociocultural factors temporally shape Latinx students' identity development, whether they saw themselves as engineers in the present or were in the process of becoming one. Design/Method Using a developmental phenomenographic approach, this study draws on two rounds of semi‐structured interviews with 15 Latinx students across three Hispanic‐Serving Institutions. Results Students' engineering role identity was characterized through one of three temporal positions: present‐oriented, liminal, and aspirational. Students with present‐oriented identities displayed confidence in their engineering abilities through academic performance, access to meaningful hands‐on experiences, and their ability to leverage strategies that mitigated notions of marginalization. Those with liminal identities leveraged coursework and meaningful hands‐on experiences to see themselves as engineers in the present, but at the same time, were faced with barriers like negative faculty interactions and gendered racism, which stunted the development of a fully present‐oriented identity. Those with aspirational identities cited needing to complete specific career milestones, a lack of meaningful hands‐on experience, and instances of misrecognition that stunted a present‐oriented identity. Conclusions This study expands our understanding of engineering identity as a developmental process and provides practical strategies to better support Latinx students with liminal and aspirational identities.